Asked in his weekly seminar the following question :How does Islam view the current massacres committed in its name in consideration of its principles and from a practical point of view?

The Religious Authority, Sayyed Muhammad Hussein Fadlullah, said:

basic and clear Islamic principle that human blood is sacred and should not be spilled.

This principle gains more significance in these circumstances, as the region is witnessing many acts of violence and many innocent lives are being lost. People have lost track of the real Islamic principles regarding this issue since the violence has been wrongly associated with Islam (especially by a mostly hostile media). However the fundamental rule in Islam is that you are not allowed to spill blood, regardless of the religious or sectarian identity of the person. Killing with no just cause is considered evil since it is one of the manifestations of injustice. The Quran considers killing one person without just cause to be the equivalent to killing all humanity:

“If any one kills a person - unless that person has murdered or spread corruption on earth - it is as if he killed all humanity” (5 :32)

Thus, Islam is very clear in its respect of human life. It only allows killing in certain cases such as self-defense, fighting aggression against a country or protecting an innocent person from the criminal acts of murderers. Such exceptions are brought about by human necessity or maintaining law and order. Islam does not legalize killing for the sake of killing but seeks to preserve life and protect society from evil, injustice and tyranny.

Islam has threatened those who kill people for unjust reasons and who try to use Islam as an excuse. The Prophet, Muhammad(p.), says that those who kill people will not be forgiven by Allah, the most Exalted. The Imam(a.s.) Al Baqir(a.s.) says that in the Hereafter, when a man says that he had never killed anyone he would be told that he had said some bad things about someone, which were then exaggerated and eventually resulted in his death. Therefore, you are partly responsible for his death. Thus, these and other texts should educate Muslims not to take part in any action, which might result in killing. What is astonishing is that these groups that do not hesitate to spill blood do not differentiate between Muslims and non-Muslims, although God says in the Holy Qur`an:

“If a man kills a believer intentionally, his punishment will be to remain in Hell” (4:93)

The Messenger(p.) says:

“By He who sent me, if the people of heaven and earth were partners in killing one Muslim, God would throw them into Hell by their noses”

Moreover, even though Islam permits war in self-defense, there are nevertheless restrictions on the conduct of this warfare. Thus deception and mass killings are prohibited. It also prohibits the killing of women, children and the elderly. The Messenger even told his army commanders not to destroy trees unless it was necessary.

Thus, we believe that those who find it easy to spill the blood of Muslims or non-Muslims in the name of Islam are committing two crimes. First when they flaunt Islamic principles and thus help the international Zionist movement and its media to give the impression that Islam is a root cause of terrorism. Secondly, they are punishing innocent people for the crimes of others, which is as unjust as those they are claiming to be fighting.

We should be aware that there are international and regional intelligence agencies that are making every effort to incite sectarian and political strife. The most dangerous thing facing the nation at present is the risk of a fratricidal war between Shiites and Sunnis. Those who are accusing others of non-belief have not paid attention to the tactic of divide and rule currently being used by Americans to control Arabs and Muslims.

As an Islamic religious authority, I would like to warn all Sunni and Shiite scholars of the nation that Americans and Zionists on the one hand and certain internal parasites on the other are making every effort to lead us into a civil war, which is one of the major prohibited actions in Islam. This is made all the more likely by this tendency to accuse others of being non-believers and other destructive ideas held by some of our Sunni and Shiite brothers and sisters alike that pave the way for anyone to carry out these schemes.

I would like to appeal to all those who call to the authentic Islam as well as those who seek to promote Islamic unity to act quickly because I am afraid that the American failure in Iraq and the inability of Sharon to defeat the Palestinian people will lead the American-Israeli alliance to focus on creating a sectarian war among Muslims so that the whole region will burn while the American president sits and watches as Nero did while Rome burned.

Faced with all this, we must keep in mind the fact that all the problems of our nation are a consequence of the American-Israeli occupation. We must make a concerted effort to end these occupations then we would have enough time to sit together and solve our sectarian and tribal differences.